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Hi everybody it’s time for your Land and Livestock Report here on the Ag Information Network of the West-I’m Russell Nemetz.

USDA inspectors have the authority to override any inaccuracies they find in beef packing plants utilizing the new camera grading system. That message was delivered to industry stakeholders last week via a letter from Greg Ibach, Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs.

The new technology, called the Gigabyte Ethernet or “Gig E,” launched in February 2017, and is now in place at nine steer and heifer harvest facilities that process 50% of the U.S. fed cattle market share.

The letter from Ibach informed packers and other stakeholders that USDA graders had observed that an updated version of the camera was not operating as expected, “which caused (USDA graders) to override grades at a higher rate than normal,” he wrote. “During that period, all graders were instructed to assure that accurate grading was taking place and reminded that they had the ultimate authority over the final grade on each and every carcass.”

Speculation has circulated throughout the industry that inaccuracies produced by the cameras had graded a significant number of carcasses higher than they should have been, but Ibach’s letter suggests otherwise.

Ibach said AMS made an adjustment to the cameras to bring it back into line with how the previous cameras were working. “After additional data review, we plan to make another minor adjustment and will reach out to our industry partners about the particulars of this adjustment, and its timing, when we have details.”